Dublin elderly get funding for pilot scheme

Elderly people living in two story terraced homes will be given a chance to convert the ground floor to live in, and to rent the upstairs.

Architects Dermot Bannon and Ciaran Ferrie have won the the Homes for Smart Ageing Universal Design Challenge, with the Abhaile Project, receiving €50,000 to develop their concept. The model supports older homeowners to reconfigure their family-sized homes by creating an independent living area suitable for the older homeowner, eliminating the need to use the stairs; and creating an affordable one‐bedroomed rental accommodation upstairs. Whilst the scheme does not specify whether the focus will be for Dublin only, the aim is to tackle overcrowding in high density cities. Using a Universal Design approach, the Abhaile Project promotes an efficient way to use existing housing stock by carving much needed new one‐bedroomed rental capacity in mature urban areas, allowing the elderly homeowners to live securely and independently downstairs, whilst promoting interaction with the person living upstairs, thereby reducing isolation.